


The Green Princess

by shinobipopcorn



Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Bowser is very affectionate, Cuddly Bowser, Daddy Bowser, F/M, Family, Fluff, but also Grabby Bowser, just not always at an appropriate time, main story complete, on to the bonuses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-02 18:56:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 19,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4070914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinobipopcorn/pseuds/shinobipopcorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Princess Celiko is the other princess of Mushroom Kingdom, daughter of the late king's brother. Her life with Peach has been boring, and with the king gone, she has no one to talk to. No one, that is, except for a big hulking dragon who keeps invading the castle...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at a fanfic based on something other than The Legend of Zelda. I am usually hesitant to write other fandoms because I don't know the characters as well. But I figure I grew up on A Link to the Past and Super Mario World, so if anything, I can probably pull off a Mario fic.
> 
> It's also one of those stories where I wrote what I like to see instead of spending a lot of time polishing, so feel free to comment and suggest improvements.

Though not often seen out and about, the Mushroom Kingdom did in fact have a king. King Toadstool left the day to day operations of his kingdom to Toadsworth, instead preferring to lounge and relax. The kingdom was at peace, and there were more important matters to attend to anyway.

The king loved his family, and spent all of his time with his little daughter Peach. When the girl was five her mother died from illness, so he felt the need to be twice the parent and gave Peach every second of the day he could spare. That included finding her a playmate.

The king himself had two brothers; King Gunpei of Sarasaland and King Dokan of Water Land. Dokan was the eldest and thus the first father of the bunch, his daughter Celiko welcomed a full five years before her cousins Peach and Daisy.

Celiko was to be the next ruler of Water Land, but an unexpected war broke out with the Kuribo army of Giant Land. To save his daughter, Dokan sent her far away to live with King Toadstool.

King Toadstool was sad that his brother's land was attacked, but he was glad to do his part and raise Celiko in his brother's stead. She was smart, having read hundreds of books at a young age, and wasn't afraid of exploring.

Unfortunately, Peach didn't share Celiko's enthusiasm for exploring. Sure, Peach liked a good stroll through Toad Town, or a short trip down Goomba Road. But actual adventuring was out of the question. Princesses didn't do such dangerous things.

Over time, Celiko grew distant. It wasn't just the age gap or Peach's reluctance to get her hands dirty. Celiko didn't like being bound by etiquette. Not that it mattered, she wasn't the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom so no one really cared if she up and disappeared for bits at a time.

By the time Peach had taken over ruling the kingdom, Celiko was just another royal hanging out at the castle. Her own home was lost and Sarasaland's climate was not her taste, so Celiko passed the time helping out around the castle and caring for the aged and infirm king. Though soon, he passed on, and Celiko was left lonely.

That is, until the first time **he** invaded the castle.

* * *

Princess Peach was having tea with Toadsworth and the other advisors, when glass panes shattered across the room. A number of paratroopas flew in and started harassing the toads, their purpose being distraction. A chuckle from the windowsill made Peach jump, and she turned to see the king of the Dark Lands advancing.

"W-what are you doing here, Bowser?! So soon after..."

"Bwahahaha, you think that skirmish with your little plumbers back in Dinosaur Land is enough to keep me down? No way!" The King of Koopas let out a blast of fire breath across the hall, singeing the draperies and scaring Toadsworth under the table. Before the steward could pull Peach under with him, she was seized by Kamek and a pair of hammer bros.

"Take her up to the highest spire, then get working on that cake letter to lure the plumber!" Bowser barked, picking up Toadsworth by the foot and laughing at his fright. "And sweep the castle. Any more of these toadies get thrown in the basement dungeons!"

"...But boss, what about our own toadies?"

"GRRAAAAHH!"

"YESSIR!" the troopas shouted and scampered off, leaving Bowser seething at their idiotic question. He laughed at his plan set in motion, before strolling down the halls of the now vacant castle.

Bowser took the basement path out to the gardens, anxious to see if there were any topiaries he could set ablaze, when a peculiar scuffle drew his attention. A giant boo was pulling the arm of a girl away from the garden door. She was shorter yet bigger than Peach, her hair somewhere between Peach's yellow and his own fiery red. She was clawing and kicking at the boo, enough that he could see she was not wearing any stiff petticoats like other human women he'd encountered.

"Let go of me, you specter! Oh, if I had a flashlight I'd be blinding you!"

Funny as it was she was in his way, so he walked over and yanked her away from the boo. She jumped when she saw him but did not scream.

"The Koopa king...!"

"You recognized me, I'm flattered. Now get outta my way, girlie, I've got effigies to burn."

"Why have you invaded this castle? Are your holdings in Dark Land not enough, that you had to terrorize a kingdom full of walking fungi?"

That caught him off guard. "Funny, insulting me at the same time you insult your own people. You must be the girl the king adopted all those years ago. Aren't you worried about your Princess?"

"Her beloved Mario will save her, so not really. I'm more concerned about your monsters wreaking havoc on the poor toads in the castle. Please spare them your wrath; they have families just as sure as your koopa troopas do."

"What motivation do I have to do as you say?" Bowser raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

Celiko thought for a moment. "None, I suppose. You could take me as a prisoner but I have nowhere near the value of Peach, and I doubt either of the Brothers would run to my aid."

"HA! Why would I take a girl with no value as a prisoner? I have Peach, and this time she'll come to her senses. Especially once she sees how much stronger I am that those 'stached linguini munchers!"

"It was just a thought. ...Can you let go now? It's starting to hurt." Celiko was faintly shaking.

Bowser's eyes trailed down to where he was gripping her, and jumped back in surprise. Her arm was covered in blood. "You stupid girl, why didn't you tell me?! These claws are sharp for a reason, ya know!" Bowser dug around his person for a cloth, finding one tucked inside his shell which he promptly handed to her.

Celiko stared at him stupefied, before she realized the problem. She took the cloth and wrapped it around her arm, then ripped a piece of her dress to provide more pressure. "Sorry, I didn't realize it was this bad. Um, can I go find the doctor?"

The King of Koopas sighed, then picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. "I'm not that dumb. I let you out, you go get help. I have someone to patch you up."

* * *

Bowser had intended to interrogate the oddball princess, but reports of an incoming plumber cut his plans short. So he left Celiko with Kamek, and dashed off to defeat Mario. Celiko was rather light headed by the time Kamek examined her arm, and fell asleep in a chair shortly after.

She was stirred awake twelve hours later, when a rather beaten and singed Bowser crawled in. "Kamek... gotta go..."

Celiko locked eyes with the defeated king, and cringed at how blackened his skin and shell were. It didn't go unnoticed.

"You worried for me? HA! Nothing can beat the coolest of cool, least of all a little lava. I swim in the stuff to cool down!" Kamek had zipped out of the room to fetch the clown car, leaving his master on the floor. Bowser grumbled at the snub, but got to his feet with minimal trouble. "See? No worries."

"Well, it's just that... your head is bleeding. Did he...?"

Bowser reached his hand up and found the gash. He hadn't noticed it because the blood blended into his hair. "Aw dammit, that bastard must have nicked me when he jumped on my head. Hey, lie back down!"

But Celiko ignored him, standing up and bringing over Kamek's discarded medical box. "You may be an enemy of the Mushroom Kingdom, but you are still a father. And I don't want to read about orphaned Koopalings in the Toad Town newspaper.

"You... know about my kids? Well, that's a silly question, they did help me attack Dinosaur Land." The koopa winced when Celiko dabbed an alcohol wipe on the cut. "But why do you care?"

"Because I'm an orphan, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone." Celiko faked a smile and shrugged, but it was clear he hit a sore spot. He was going to say more, but Kamek arrived with the clown car.

"He's got a wound on his head," Celiko told the wizard, who nodded and helped his boss into the car. As she watched them go, she couldn't help but think that the stories she'd heard about the koopa king's viciousness were a little exaggerated.


	2. Chapter 2

Several weeks after what came to be known as "the star incident", Peach decided to hold a diplomatic conference. Leaders from several important settlements were slated to attend; the Beanbean kingdom, Grass and Ice Lands, and of course Sarasaland, among others. Security was beefed up in response to the prior unwelcome visitors, but in reality there were only a few more armored toads stationed around the doors.

Celiko stalked around the gardens, disinterested in the conference. She wandered through a hedge maze, not bothering to look ahead until she smacked into a bright yellow, slightly squishy wall.

"Don't you usually look where you're going?" the wall bellowed, with a voice that made the flowers tremble. "Or is the conference so boring that you had to come out here and bash your head in against these rock solid abs of steel?"

"More like slightly flabby abs that fly around in clown cars too much," she replied while rubbing her nose, not bothered at all that the "wall" she knocked into was the reason the kingdom was on high alert. "What are you doing here? Does your head still hurt?"

Bowser laughed and pounded his fist against his skull. "Hurt? HA! I'm as thick headed as they come!"

"I don't doubt it," Celiko chuckled. "If you're here to crash the conference, be my guest. From the thirty minutes I managed to sit through, all that they decided on was that Mario deserves a medal. None of them even realized why I showed up."

"Even if it's still under siege, you're the de jure ruler of Water Land and deserve to be in attendance," Bowser snorted. "Funny how no one asked the King of Dark Land to show up. But it makes crashing the affair all the more sweeter! Though I hear through the pipeline- heh, pipeline, that's a good one- that I'm not the only threat the kingdom's facing lately."

Celiko was about to question that theory, but just then a high pitched whine sounded above them. Bowser suddenly tackled her to the ground, milliseconds before an explosion tore a hole through the castle walls.

"Dammit, what the hell is he up to now?! Go hide little princess, I'll handle this overgrown lima bean myself!" Bowser stood up and took off toward the damage.

Rather disoriented, Celiko called after him but wasn't heard over the commotion. "Lima bean? What...? Wait, Bowser!"

The koopa king had shielded her from any debris, but her head pounded from the noise and hitting the ground. A toad rushing to provide aid for explosion victims heard Celiko, and helped her to her feet. From him, she learned that a short Beanish in a cape was the prime suspect.

Celiko followed a path of blast marks and fire trails to the conference room. Furniture was thrown about, some broken chairs and tables serving as a makeshift shield for the cowering ambassadors. She scanned the room for Peach or Bowser, finding neither.

"Miss Celiko!"

Toadette poked her head out from a table, and Celiko ran over. "Toadette, are you alright? What happened?"

"The meeting was going well, until we heard an explosion. Toadsworth took the Princess out through the secret wall, right before a Beanish with a cape flew in. The Beanish got mad that she wasn't here and started shooting at us! That's when it got real bad, Bowser actually showed up! Great Goombas, could this get any worse?! Why does Mario have to be on vacation right now?"

Celiko ordered Toadette to help the ambassadors to safety, then took off looking for the intruder. If Toadsworth bothered to use the secret passage, it must mean the intruder is serious business; of all the times Bowser came to capture Peach, not once has he thought to tuck her away.

After running down the hallways, she finally came upon the intruder. "Ah ha, the princess of which I will need for the bargaining!" Celiko turned and saw a green floating lump, wrapped in a purple cape. "This is fortunate for Fawful, now I will not need to waste time looking for the butter to make my Mushroom Kingdom bread taste all the sweeter."

"Who are you, and why have you attacked our castle? I demand you leave at once!" She was not frightened by the strange speaking Beanish, and despite how she was ignored, she was definitely not going to back down from defending her adopted home. "You have no claim to our territory!"

"Neither do you, princess of water that has been polluted by the stinky sweat of Kuribo shoes. I am Fawful, and I will be doing the taking of the Kingdom of Shroomish!" Fawful zoomed forward, knocking into Celiko with his floating car. She winced from the impact on her shoulder, and tried to swat at him as he came around again. But this time he fired a magic beam, hitting her dead on and making her collapse. She knocked her head against some debris when she fell, and as she lost consciousness, she thought she heard an anguished roar coming down the hall...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly longer and slightly fluffier chapter ahead. Also slightly sad. And slightly raunchy. But still G rated. For the most part. Bowser is a potty mouth.

The first thing Celiko felt as she regained consciousness was warmth. Her body ached, but whenever she shifted, the warm feeling drove the pain away. It was dark when she opened her eyes, save for a small candle glowing at bedside. She was covered with plush blankets, her head supported by a mountain of fluffy pillows, and the bed was softer than any she'd felt before. But most surprisingly, a little blue and green lump was curled up under her arm.

As she looked at it, the lump uncurled and glanced back at her. "Hi."

"...hi." Her voice was weak, barely enough to even hear.

"It hurts, huh? I don't like it when it hurts. So I'm gonna stay here and help make it better. Hugs always make it better. Are you gonna be our Mama?"

Mama? Celiko tried to process what the little guy was saying, but her head was pounding. In no time, she drifted back to sleep.

When next she woke, the little guy was sitting beside her holding her hand as another dabbed at her forehead. She realized then that the little guys were koopas, though the one tending to her wound was definitely not a guy.

"Larry, like, quit moving the bed around, you'll make me hurt her," the nurse said, her pink bow flopping around as she talked. "I'm sorry if he woke you up. My name's Wendy. Does everything still hurt?"

Celiko managed a nod, her voice still weak.

"Alright, I'll go get Papa, then. Larry, come on!"

"Nuh-uh! I'm staying with Mama!"

"Come ON, she needs her rest! GET OFF!" The two degenerated into a squabbling match, eventually causing enough commotion that a third koopa entered the room. This one was almost an adult version of Larry, the same blue hair and green head, though his fangs stuck out differently.

"Wendy, Larry! Get off of the Lady Princess's bed this instant!" Wendy obeyed but Larry started fussing, burying himself under Celiko's covers and making her chuckle. "Oh, for the... If Father finds out what you two were doing, he's going to broil you." He then made a bow. "Forgive us for disturbing you, My Lady. I am Ludwig, the eldest of the Koopalings. Wendy is our only sister and Larry is the youngest."

She must be in Dark Land, then. There certainly wasn't a bed this soft in Mushroom Castle, and all the times she was in the infirmary, it was so blindingly white that she couldn't sleep. She managed to unhook her arm from Larry enough to pat his head, then turned to look at Wendy. She winced a little from pain, and the girl understood.

"Right! Ludo, where's Papa? We need Papa, like, now!" She dragged Ludwig from the room, forgetting all about the little heating pad snuggling against Celiko's side.

* * *

Celiko felt him approach before he even opened the door. Even in a solid stone castle, Bowser still made the ground shake with every step. He opened the door and stepped in as quietly as he could manage, with Kamek close behind. Larry poked his head out from her sheets and smiled. "Hi, Papa. Mama's awake."

"Kamek, put Larry to bed." Larry began to protest his father's order, but the resulting glare scared him stiff. He did not resist when Kamek picked him up and carried him from the room.

As soon as they were alone, Bowser knelt next to the bed and ran a finger through Celiko's hair. "You've been hit with an energy sapping beam. It makes the victim into the perfect hostage, causing lethargy and vocal paralysis. We've administered an antidote, but it takes several days to go into effect. You've also got a nasty hit on your shoulder from his assault, and a gash on your forehead from when you hit the floor."

He looked forlorn as he explained what had happened at Mushroom Castle, though he did perk up slightly when he got to the part where he sent Fawful back to his country as a charred crisp. "I hope you don't mind that I brought you back to my castle. Quite frankly I didn't trust those walking fungi to care for you like I would..."

Bowser's fingers caressed their way from Celiko's hair to her cheek, making her sigh with contentment. She reached out and took Bowser's other hand with a smile. "Thank you..."

"Shh... go to sleep. I'll be right here for you when you wake up."

* * *

"You're gonna be our Mama, right? Mama, Mama!" Larry bounced up and down on the edge of the bed, ignoring his father's groans and relishing in the giggles coming from the princess. Celiko had recovered enough to speak and sit up in bed, and had been in the middle of lunch with Bowser. But the youngest Koopaling wouldn't be left out. "Mama, Mama!"

"Larry, you little shit, get down from that bed this instant! GO TO YOUR ROOM!"

"But Wendy's watchin her smoochy shows and says I'm not allowed in there when she's bulnorable to emoshun," Larry protested mid-bounce.

Afraid that a war was brewing, Celiko sat her lunch tray to the side and called out to the Koopaling. "Larry, you can stay if you stop bouncing on the bed. Come here." When he wiggled over, she fixed his crooked shell. "Good boy. But, you should stop calling me mama, I'm just a visitor. Did you call Peach your mama when she was here?"

Larry shook his head in the negative. "She screamed at me when I came near her and said I was 'hideous' and told me to get away. I had to ask Ludo what that word meant, and when he hear me say she called me it, he broke a lot of stuff in his room cause he was mad. Roy's the one who told me it meant ugly. He also said she's a bitch."

Celiko sat there shocked, while Bowser reprimanded him for language. It was totally in character for Peach to think of the Koopalings that way, but to actually say such a thing to a child? "Larry, can I talk to your Papa alone? Here, take my tray and go get us some dessert."

The mention of sweets make the boy bolt from the room, and Celiko turned to his father. "Bowser, was that true?"

"Yeah, that just happened recently, when I nabbed her from Dinosaur Land," he growled. "I brought Peach back here first, intending to be civil. I had her in a pretty nice cell and Larry came to investigate while I was refueling the clown car. She freaked out on him and I didn't know until I found him in Ludwig's room bawling his eyes out. I was pissed when I saw that Ludwig trashed his piano, so I confronted him thinking that was what spooked Larry. But when I found out it was because Peach insulted his brother, well, I was infuriated. Tossed her in a cage after that."

"She has always been rather biased against things that aren't pink and pretty," Celiko said with a frown. "I couldn't even get her to play in the rain as a child. Why do you keep trying to capture her, anyway?"

"It was originally so that I could take over her kingdom," Bowser answered. "I'll admit, at one point I thought of using marriage to accomplish that. After Dinosaur Land, my goal became to cause her as much torment as possible. I thought hitting her at home would hurt the most, but that didn't work out as I intended. No matter, I'm done chasing her. That was my last attempt."

"...Then why were you at the castle on the day of the conference?"

"I was actually looking for someone else. I heard the beautiful queen of a distant forgotten land might be in attendance. She left quite an impression on me when first we met..."

"And these scars on my arm say you left quite the impression on me, dragon," Celiko laughed in response. "But seriously, you came back for me?"

"What can I say, I have a thing for girls who care about other people's kids."

It hurt Celiko to ask, but she had to know. "What happened to their mother?"

Bowser frowned. "She drove me to exile her. It was a political marriage, I should have seen the distress coming. But in the beginning I was happy, especially when Ludwig was born. She was pretty happy too, until Ludo started taking after me and showing interest in fighting. When Lemmy came along she was angry. The poor boy took after my mother's family and was a runt, and of course she blamed me for giving her a 'gimp son'.

"She made fun of Roy for having pink coloring, despite the fact that the little guy was strong as could be. The twins came next, Iggy and Wendy, but of course that was problematic. 'What kind of koopa needs glasses?' She finally gets a daughter, only for her to be 'bald and colorless'? Then Morton comes along, 'oversized and ugly'. Insulting the kids was one thing. But the last straw? She tried to kill Larry."

Celiko gasped in horror.

"I found her one day with his egg. She tried to smash it, saying that the others were hellions and she would not give me the satisfaction of another one. She managed to crack the egg before I could stop her, but thankfully it didn't break the membrane inside and Kamek was able to save him. I nearly killed her in a rage, but Kammy stopped me and put the bitch on tribunal. Last I heard she was eaten by a chuboomba."

Bowser looked up from his lap and saw Celiko shuddering, with tears running down her face. "He... he's such a sweet little boy... I can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt him..."

"Aww, don't worry about him. He's a knucklehead just like Ludo and his old man," he said, reaching over and wiping Celiko's face. As an additional comfort, he leaned in and kissed her cheek.

Celiko smiled and leaned back against Bowser. His kiss was warm and tingly, with a hint of smoke against her skin. She started to ask for more, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Forgive me, Your Irritableness, it's Kamek." The elder magikoopa peeked in the room and barely dodged a fiery blast from the enraged king.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT OLD CRONE, I'M BUSY!!"

"I'm sorry for bothering you and the Lady, honestly, but it's about her." Kamek gulped before continuing. "The Mushroom Kingdom has sent an envoy to collect Princess Celiko. He will be here tomorrow."

Celiko and Bowser sat up straight. "They sent someone for me? Who?"

"We have no identity information on file for him, only that he favors naps and being second banana."

Bowser scratched his head. "...Green 'stache? I thought he liked that yellow princess. Why does he care about you?"

"His name is Luigi, not 'green 'stache'. Hmm... I think I know why. Toadette knew I was looking for you at the castle. She must have thought you kidnapped me, and asked him to save me." Celiko lowered her head and took a deep breath. "...It's okay, I'll go back. I don't want to cause any kind of unrest or hardship for this kingdom."

Bowser stood and roared. "If you want to stay, you can stay! I'll chew up Greenie and spit him back out as a 'stached meatball!"

"And if you do that, his brother will come and burn this place down. Then I'll really have to worry about orphaned Koopalings," Celiko chided. Bowser grumbled but sat back down. "How about we make my last day here end on a positive note, hmm? Maybe by doing something we can't do in the Mushroom Kingdom?"

Celiko ran her fingers along Bower's arm suggestively, bringing a grin to his face and making him growl excitedly. Kamek noticed the tension, and coughed as he straightened up.

"Um, right. Since that's settled, I think I'll go make sure the kids have eaten their dinner. Then I'll put Larry and Morton to bed. Forgive the intrusion." The elderly magikoopa rushed from the room, finding Larry in the hall.

"What's goin on, Kamek? Mama never came and got any dessert!"

"Larry, let's find your siblings and make dinner. Your father is... ah... He'll make sure she gets dessert."

Larry protested as Kamek dragged him back down the hall. "But how's he gonna do that wifout goin to the kitchen?"

"Forget I even said anything."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has given this story a chance. I know writing with OCs is risky, so I appreciate you taking the time to read and review. :)

Bowser stomped down the hall, cursing and growling. "I still don't like it."

The girl riding on the crook of his arm leaned her head against his shoulder. "I know. But I never said you couldn't come visit." Today was the day they were coming to take Princess Celiko back to the Mushroom Kingdom. "...I didn't even get to meet all of your children," she said, pouting slightly.

"Oh!" Bowser lit up into a toothy grin. "Let's see, you've met my littlest Larry, my baby girl, and my second in command Ludwig. Four to go, right?"

The Koopa King launched into a series of praises about his kids, from Iggy's inventions to Lemmy's acrobatics ("He's so nimble on that ball of his!"). He was just finishing explaining how Roy almost beat him at arm wrestling, when a gray blur came running around the corner and tripped on Bowser's tail.

"YAOUCH!"

"Uh, sorry Dad, I didn' mean ta hurt yer tail." The second youngest Koopaling stood and brushed off his father's tail, before coming around and looking at Celiko. "...Who's the girl? Is this Mama? I came to see, Lar won't shut up about her."

Celiko smiled at the little koopa. "Hi, Morton, right? I'm not your Mama, but I'm probably the one you're looking for. Bowser, set me down, I can walk."

After confirming that walking wouldn't be a strain, Bowser sat her down and watched as she knelt beside and talked with Morton. The Koopaling asked her a number of questions, mostly about her home and why she wasn't as "stuck up" as Peach or the toads. Celiko answered every one, and even asked a few of her own, sensing that this little one loved to talk. They continued, until they saw Kamek coming up the hall.

"Uh, I gotta go, Roy's gonna show me how to beat up a Boom Boom. Bye Mama!" Morton scrambled away, thinking Kamek was coming to yell at him. Kamek merely shook his head, then whispered something in Bowser's ear.

Bowser frowned at the news. "Oh, alright... Just tell him to wait there and no harm will come to him."

Celiko stood, looking concerned. "What is it? What's wrong?"

The Koopa King sighed. "Green mustache is at the front gate. It... it's just that you haven't gotten to meet the other kids yet. Or to say goodbye to the ones you know. Wendy will be sad she didn't get to 'girl talk' or whatever she does with you. And of course Larry will be devastated. Are you sure I can't send Greenie back home _alone_? Even if I don't toast him?"

The princess watched Bowser mumble and wring his hands. As much as she wanted to stay, the best diplomatic action was to return home. Perhaps once she got back, she could use her influence to help the Dark Lands.

She took a deep breath, and steeled herself. "I'm going back, but I want you to promise me something Bowser. Promise me you'll keep doing your best as a father. No more random trips to kidnap princesses or to crash conferences while leaving them home alone."

"Hey, I brought them along when I kidnapped Peach, I even gave them each a castle to-"

"Don't interrupt!" Celiko chided the king before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his face to hers. "...I'm going to miss having someone so warm next to me at night."

"I'll have to come kidnap _you_ then instead of Peach," Bowser answered as he pushed his lips to hers, "again, and again, and again," punctuating his words with additional kisses.

"You'll say goodbye to Larry for me, then?" she asked, desperate to prevent his actions from escalating to their natural conclusion. If she did _that_ again, she new there was no way she could make herself leave.

"Mmm. I'll tell him you went home so that you can get your things ready to move in."

"Bowser!" Celiko blushed, but hers was soon outshined by the Koopa King's as he kissed her one final time.

* * *

Celiko paced back and forth in her chambers. Two whole months had gone by, and not one single visit from the Koopa King. She had gotten many letters from a "secret" pen pal, (the bright pink stationery and over usage of the word "like" didn't do much to mask the author's identity), but no signs of activity from the Dark Lands.

On top of that, she still hadn't completely recovered from Fawful's attack. She was overly tired during the day, her shoulder pain returned every time it rained, and even the faintest of magical scents reminded her of his energy beam and made her dizzy.

Peach had acted relieved when Luigi brought Celiko back to the Mushroom Kingdom, but otherwise left Celiko to her own devices. The castle was repaired, the injured were given ample rest and compensation, and life went on as normal.

Celiko had suggested that the Mushroom Kingdom formally thank Bowser for disposing of Fawful during one of the usual conferences, but was laughed out of the room. "Why should we thank him? He probably sent Fawful here to make himself look like a hero," Toadsworth had said, while another advisor recommended billing him for the castle repairs. It made Celiko so sick to her stomach that she actually spent a half hour in her bathroom vomiting.

After that, she stopped attending conferences all together, and instead devoted her time to helping the poor and needy townsfolk. The people still loved her, some were even outraged that anyone would ever harm her. But she eased their worries, and continued giving her all for the people.

"You better come visit me soon, Bowser," she mumbled as she stopped pacing and flopped onto her bed. "I miss you and my little blue heater..."

* * *

After nightfall, a group of hooded figures tiptoed through the hall of Mushroom Castle.

"I think it's this way..."

"How would you know, you never been here before!"

"Shush, you two, we're gonna get caught!"

The smallest of the three wandered a little ahead after shushing his cohorts, peeking around a corner. After seeing that the coast was clear, he waved the others along. "Look, he was right. That door, it has to be Princess Peach's chambers!"

The little cloaked one pointed toward an elaborate door, carved from fine Mushroom Oak. A plush carpet laid in front of it, and the fixtures were shinier than silver. It was definitely an important room.

"You're the biggest, you open it!" the smallest said to his skeptical cohort.

"Oi, runt, stop bossing me! I don't care if you are older, you otta..."

"Roy, shut up!" hissed the third, adjusting his glasses. "You can fight with Lemmy later! We gotta get back before the old koot wakes from his nap. You know he'll tell Dad and then the whole surprise will be ruined!"

The three koopalings- Lemmy, Roy, and Iggy- squabbled in the hall for a good five minutes, before deciding that Iggy was right and their little tryst needed to end. It was bad enough Iggy had to slip that sleeping potion into Kamek's dinner, or that Roy beat up a guard and stole his father's clown car. But having to explain all of it in front of an angry Bowser?

Lemmy shivered. "Hurry up and open the door, Roy. I don't want to think about any more poundings."

Roy opened the door as quietly as he could, and was very relieved that the hinges were well oiled. Peeking inside, the three boys caught glimpse of a frilly canopy bed- and the person sleeping inside it.

"It's the Princess! Quick, Iggy, the potion!" Lemmy took the bottle from Iggy and poured its contents over a handkerchief. "I know she's already sleeping, but this way she'll stay asleep."

Roy watched Lemmy maneuver himself around the Princess's pillow as not to wake her, then laid the handkerchief over her nose so she would inhale the sedative. After a minute, Lemmy lightly tapped on her to make sure she was out. "Okay, I think we're good. Come on, we have to hurry and get her back home so Papa can get his revenge!"

"Is it just me, or does Peachy's hair look a little different?"

"You're just seeing things, Roy, cause of the dark. Now help Iggy carry her back to the car!"

"Hold on, we're taking the short cut." Iggy pulled out his radio. "See, I programmed the car to be on stealth mode. It's right outside the window."

"Good, cause Peachy is real heavy and you two have as much muscle as a boo." Roy scooped the Princess up, blanket and all, and hopped out the window.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Father's Day to the number one dad in the Dark Lands!

Roy tiptoed through the halls with the unconscious Princess slung over his shoulder, her fingertips dragging along the ground. "Hey, that went pretty well, dontcha think?"

"Yeah, too well," Iggy hummed. "Just get her to our room before anyone finds out."

"That's gonna be tough, we have to go past Wendy and Larry's room," Lemmy pointed out. "Sis is probably listening to her tapes, but if Larry's up, he won't stop whining and then we'll definitely get caught!"

The trio made it past Roy and Morton's room with no problem (Morton was likely asleep, having inherited his father's ability to sleep through everything), and the orchestral score blaring from Ludwig's chamber indicated that he was completely preoccupied. One room to go...

"Shh, I hear Dad!"

Iggy's warning made Roy and Lemmy scramble into the shadows. The smallest of the three, Lemmy tiptoed up to the door and pressed his ear against it. Sure enough, Bowser was inside, reading a story to three year old Larry.

Lemmy relayed his findings with a whisper. "It sounds like he's reading the one about the princess and the seven misfits. Larry won't sleep until Papa gets to the part where the princess falls in love with the leader, so if we hurry, we can make it!"

"Where's Pops at now?"

"Uhh... Sounds like she just found the cabin in the woods. Hurry, Roy!" Lemmy waived them on, so Iggy helped Roy hoist the Princess into a bridal carry. The pair took off for their room. They were almost there, when Bowser suddenly emerged from Wendy and Larry's room.

"What the hell are you three doing?!" the King of Koopas bellowed at the startled boys. He spotted the hand falling out of the blanket in his sons' arms, and growled. "Who the hell did you kidnap?"

A collective "uh..." was all Bowser got, so he grabbed the Princess from their arms and started yelling. The commotion woke Larry back up, and he padded out to investigate. The little one lit up when he saw the figure sticking out from the blanket.

"Mama!"

Bowser stopped shouting. There was only one person Larry called Mama. The king peeled back the blanket, and sure enough, the passed out girl was Princess Celiko. He was elated to see her, but at the same time infuriated. "What the hell? You idiots DRUGGED and KIDNAPPED Princess Celiko?"

"Aw shit, I told you Peach's hair looked funny."

"ROY, LANGUAGE! Now I suppose you three are also responsible for why Kamek disappeared and couldn't put Larry to bed?"

"I thought I gave him a sleeping potion, not a disappearing one..." Iggy mumbled, earning a smack from Lemmy.

"Shut up, you'll get us in more trouble!"

"LEMMY, ROY, BEDROOM. IGGY, ANTIDOTE **_NOW!_** " The trio scampered off, leaving Bowser cradling the Princess.

Larry crawled up his father's shell, and leaned over his shoulder. "Papa, why is Mama back? Is she gonna live with us now?"

Bowser couldn't help the smile creeping up his face. "...She's here because your brothers are idiots. But I can't answer that other question, not yet. Now back to bed, I have to make sure she's okay and go tuck her in."

* * *

Celiko's head was pounding when she woke, luckily the room was dark. She was rather cold, but thankfully she was wrapped in warm blankets. Since injuring her shoulder she needed to clutch a pillow to sleep, and the one she had gathered was extra warm. Almost too warm...

She slid open her eyes, a small tuft of blue hair the first thing in focus. The pillow turned out to be the youngest Koopaling. "Larry...? Wha... when did you get here?" Realizing she wasn't in her room anymore, she sat up and looked around. She got a surprise when she spotted someone in the corner, sleeping in a chair and drooling like a child. "Aww..."

The sleeping king heard her and opened an eye. "You, sleep. Now."

Celiko rubbed sleeping Larry's head, then turned back to the king. "I think I've had enough sleep for now... I'm open for some conversation, though. Like about how I got here?"

Bowser scratched his head. "Yeah, uh, about that... Three of the boys kidnapped you. On their own. I didn't tell them to. You see, they thought they'd kidnap Peach so I could 'teach her a lesson' about bullying their baby brother, but it was dark and since none of 'em ever eat their carrots, they didn't notice you weren't Peach. Come to think of it, those three are the three that didn't get to meet you, so I guess they didn't realize who you were, and just thought you were Peach."

"...I see."

"And you're in my room because I didn't have one ready for you. I mean, you do have a room here, you were in it last time, but Wendy's been decorating it... It's kind of pink at the moment, I know you don't like pink... I wasn't watching you sleep to be a pervert, Iggy drugged you and I didn't want you to be alone in case there were problems... And Larry, as soon as he knew you were here, he was glued-"

The mumbling king made Celiko laugh. "You're so cute when you're flustered."

"Cute? I'm not cute, I'm scary! Terrifying! I strike fear into people's hearts!"

"Not everyone's heart..."

Celiko laid Larry on the bed, then crawled out and walked over to Bowser. She sat on his lap and wrapped her hands around his neck as she leaned in to kiss him. He closed the distance and buried his hand in her hair. He licked the side of her cheek, and started sliding the strap of her nightgown away.

"Hold that thought." Celiko stood and went to the bed, hoisting up Larry and carrying him to his bedroom across the hall. Wendy was inside fixing her makeup for the day, and squealed when she saw Celiko enter.

"AHH! You're back! Mama's actually back!"

"Hello, Wendy. Will you help Larry get ready for the day when he wakes? I'll take everyone on a picnic later if you're good..." Wendy was already pulling things from drawers and shining Larry's shell before Celiko got him on his bed.

Celiko returned to Bowser's room, locking the door behind her and seductively sliding the strap back down. "Now, where were we?"

Bowser licked his lips and moved to the bed. "I think you were showing me how upset you were that you were kidnapped. You were so distraught that you overheated, and needed my help peeling your uncomfortable nightgown away. You also needed me to massage the stress out of your shoulders."

"...Too many words. Kiss now."

Bowser obliged and pulled Celiko onto his lap, giving her a warm and passionate kiss. When they broke for air, he buried his nose into her neck and rubbed her bare shoulder. "...I missed you."

"Yes, I noticed how no one came to visit or even tried to kidnap me over the last two months," Celiko teased. "But that's okay, I missed you too. I also missed waking up with a little blue lump under my arm."

"I tell ya, he's been a pain in the ass since you left," Bowser snorted. "I have to read him stories and trick him into sleeping. Even last night, he wouldn't budge once he saw you were here. But you can't blame him, after all he never knew what it was like to have a mother until you came along." Bowser resumed planting little kisses over Celiko's neck and shoulders, until a thought came to him. "Hey, how'd you know his room was across the hall?"

"Wendy's been writing me letters," she explained as she returned his advances. "She said you gave her a nice big room near your own because she's your one and only little girl. She shares her room with Larry because he usually sleeps with _you_ , so it makes sense to have his things nearby. Neither of them mind sharing, though Larry doesn't like watching 'smoochy' shows."

"Good thing you took him out of the room then," Bowser growled as he rolled Celiko over and pressed her into the sheets. "Because this next part is definitely not for children."


	6. Chapter 6

"Numbskulls, front and center!"

Four of the five Koopalings seated around the breakfast table looked up in panic, finding their father standing in the doorway with a scowl.

"...What did you do this time?" the fifth, Ludwig, nonchalantly asked as he kept his nose buried in his musical score. It just wasn't a proper breakfast without someone getting yelled at. "Does it have something to do with all the shouting I heard last night?"

"It's a wonder you could hear anything with you blaring all that fancy-pants music," Roy mumbled, before being yanked out of his seat by his father.

"Am I a numbskull too?" Morton asked between bites of his cereal, relieved when Bowser shook his head in the negative.

"Ludwig, Morton, in case you haven't heard, these three decided to have a little FUN yesterday," Bowser began after lifting the other two from their seats as well. "Isn't that right, boys?

"Yes..."

"Yeah, Pops..."

"No... OW! I-I mean yes, Dad..."

Bowser acted angry, but he was really delighted. "Well, since you've learned your lesson, I SUPPOSE I could forgive you. That is, if your victim agrees..."

"What did they do, Father?" Ludwig asked him, but got his answer as soon as he looked up. "M-my lady!"

Celiko stepped out from behind Bowser and smiled at the children. "Hello, Ludwig. Hello Morton."

"Hiya!"

"I guess I can forgive you boys for kidnapping me," she said with a laugh, turning to the conspirators after waving to Morton. "Though I wish you had given me some notice, then I could have grabbed some more appropriate clothing..."

Bowser let out a growl that suggested he was fine with Celiko staying in her nightdress, causing her to smack his arm. After rubbing the sting out, he introduced her to her captors.

"So you're the 'Mama' Larry won't quit talking about," Iggy said. "He really goes on at times... Sorry about the potion. I'm Iggy. Wendy and I are twins."

"I'm Roy, I'm pretty much what Pops would look like if he were bald and pink."

"...I'm Lemmy and I'm actually older than those two. Nice to meet you."

Celiko made a small curtsey. "Nice to meet you, all of you. I've heard so much about you... Your father certainly likes to sing your praises."

The kids chatted with Celiko for several minutes, until they were all interrupted by a clatter coming from the hall.

"MamamamamamamamamamaMAMAAAAA!" Larry came flying into the room and leapt at Celiko, knocking her and his father over. She tumbled to the floor as he gripped her chest like a vice, but managed to cushion her fall by landing on Bowser.

"MAMA, YOU'RE BACK! YOU'RE BACK! I LOVE YOU MAMAAAA~!"

"Hi, little buddy," Celiko said once she could breathe.

"You and Papa are gonna get married now, right?"

Bowser made a noise halfway between a growl and a cough, while Celiko blushed. Once he helped Celiko to her feet, Bowser pried Larry away. "Larry, you scamp, stop embarrassing the princess! Wendy put you up to this, didn't she?"

Celiko watched as Bowser fussed with his youngest. The rest of the boys settled back into breakfast, chatting and occasionally throwing a piece of food at one another. Wendy soon arrived to join them, though she seemed shocked that Celiko didn't have anything to cover herself with. She zoomed out of the room and returned few seconds later with a purple robe.

"Here, Mama, I borrowed this from Kammy. It's not really fashionable but it's the closest thing around to your size."

Celiko thanked Wendy and slipped the robe over her head. Considering the size difference between Celiko and a koopa it was more of a shirt, but it did make her shoulders warmer.

"Oh, yeah," Bowser mumbled when he looked over and saw the improvised outfit, "guess I'll have to have some clothes made up for you, my dear. What's your favorite color?"

"I've always liked green, to tell the truth," Celiko admitted. "Peach and Daisy always wore these bright, tulip dresses. I didn't need that. I like subtle, natural. Like the color of your shell, actually."

"Heh, so you're a green princess, then. Well, green really does go great with that lovely red hair of yours," Bowser whispered, lifting Celiko's hair out of the way and kissing down her neck. Celiko giggled and tried to get him to stop, but Bowser was just too taken with his captive to go easy on her. Eventually, the king's lavish affections attracted attention.

"Ew, Dad's being all gooey gooey," Morton grumbled with a mouth full of cereal.

"Wow, I didn't realize Pops still had it in him. They're at it pretty hard..."

"Shut UP, Roy!" Wendy said with an elbow to the gut. "Papa and Mama are happy!"

"Yes, it's best to politely ignore displays of affection," Ludwig chimed in.

Iggy and Lemmy took their eldest brother's advice and pretended not to notice, while Larry was so buried in a pile of pancakes that it's likely he didn't even see what had happened. By the time Bowser was sated breakfast was over, and Celiko was definitely going to have to find some different clothes if she wanted to do anything that didn't involve necking with Bowser.

Wendy was the castle's fashion expert, so she took Celiko to meet the seamstresses. Eventually they had worked out some nice dresses and shirt pant combos for production, and the head seamstress even found an older human sized dress in the wardrobe that Celiko could wear right away. It was a little baggy, but it was much better than a nightgown.

On the way back to join the boys, Wendy and Celiko had a serious conversation.

"So, like, when is the ceremony?"

Celiko was confused. "Ceremony?"

Wendy innocently kicked at the ground. "You know, fancy dress, walk down the aisle, vowing and all that..."

Celiko let out a little laugh. "No one's asked me to marry them, Wendy."

"But, like, it's gonna happen. And it's not like you have to wait for him to ask you!"

"You and Larry are in cahoots, aren't you?" Celiko asked, remembering how surprised Bowser was when Larry said the same thing this morning. "As much as I want to stay, I don't know if I'll be able to yet. We don't know if the Mushroom Kingdom is going to make a fuss once they realize I'm gone. It might be a repeat of last time."

Wendy stopped walking and stepped in front of Celiko. "Um, like, in the movies and books the lovers don't let their countries or their parents get in the way of love. You guys clearly don't have a problem **making love** but, like, I think you need help making it official."

Celiko almost fell over from what she was hearing. "Wendy, what...?!

"Oh please, Papa is a father of seven and the two of you sleep in the same room. It doesn't take much to connect the dots there. Besides, you can't hide that little bump from me. I took care of you last time, remember? And that bump wasn't there. Pretty soon you won't be able to hide it from anyone."

Celiko grabbed Wendy's shoulders and knelt down to eye level. "Wendy. For starters, people don't get married when they've only known someone a few months. Second, yes I have feelings for your father, but you shouldn't make assumptions about what we do together. Third, just because I may have gotten a little chubbier since you saw me last doesn't mean what you think it means! So I got a little depressed after Fawful attacked, and I ate a little more than I should have. I'll lose the weight soon. Besides, I don't mind and I'm sure your Papa doesn't mind."

Wendy nodded. "Of course he won't mind, you should know by now he loves kids and being that it'll be half yours, he'll be ecstatic."

Celiko growled. "You're not listening to me! I'm not pregnant!"

"Are you sure?" Wendy asked with a smirk.

"OF COURSE I'M SURE!" Celiko replied. "Human type women like myself don't start growing for three to four months after conceiving. The only other time your father and I could have... conceived was two months ago. I'm not pregnant, I just got fat." She then slumped back on the floor. "Sniff... it's easy to get fat when the only comfort you have in a dark time is a fork instead of a friend."

Wendy apologized for upsetting Celiko, then helped her stand. "I'm sorry, Mama. I'm not making fun of you. We really want you as our Mama, and we would really love if you gave us a brother or sister..."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Wendy," Celiko answered. "We need to take things one step at a time. Let's just wait and see how things turn out."

"Alright... but if your tummy gets bigger next month I'll say I told you so."


	7. Chapter 7

Once Celiko was properly dressed and enough food was amassed, the Koopalings and their father escorted her out on their picnic. Larry latched onto Celiko like a vice, causing Morton to grumble and demand he share Mama with the rest of them. Iggy and Ludwig took turns gushing over their accomplishments in science and music, after which Roy showed off his strength by throwing Lemmy into the air. Celiko was about to panic until Wendy produced a giant ball and threw it to him, which he used to bounce and land gracefully.

Once everyone was tired of showing off, it was time to eat. Bowser insisted Celiko choose first; he knew enough that his brats would reduce the basket to shreds if he didn't step in and override her natural motherly tendency to see to the kids first. When he noticed that she only took a small sandwich, he put an extra ham leg on her plate without thinking.

"No no, a sandwich isn't a meal. Eat this."

"Bowser, I can't eat that, it's as big as my head."

"Oh, sorry. Um... here."

Celiko giggled as Bowser fumbled through the basket and replaced the ham with a much more manageable drumstick, her giggle directed at the slight blush peeking around his cheeks. She couldn't tell if he was blushing because she had caught him acting like a father, or if he was blushing because she was blushing too.

"...The two of you have been staring at each other for like, three minutes Pops, either kiss her or let us start eating!"

Bowser growled and threw a nearby paper cup at Roy, who managed to dodge but still got himself slapped by Wendy. Celiko patted Bowser on the shoulder, then proceeded to help the kids dish out the remaining food.

* * *

The kids had used the rest of the day to take Celiko on a tour of the castle, then they put on an impromptu concert after dinner. They each knew how to play an instrument except for Larry, so Ludwig got him a little box to stand on and pretend to be the conductor. It thoroughly wore the kit out.

"So where will I be staying?" Celiko asked, after reading Larry a story and tucking him in for the night.

"...Where else?" Bowser said, holding open the door to his chamber and wagging his tail.

"Oh, that's right! You said I had a room, that Wendy was decorating it. I guess I'll be sleeping in there."

"Aww, but the bed isn't very wide in there, we won't have a lot of room to cuddle after we- aUFPH!"

Bowser's sentence was interrupted when Celiko came over and gently clamped his jaw shut. "Just what were we planning on doing, hmm? Beds are for sleeping. Or were you planning on continuing that attack from this morning? Or the attack from breakfast? Or the one you launched during the picnic? Or maybe the one during the walk back from the picnic? Or the six others between then and now?"

"Hey, don't blame me for trying. I have to get all I can while you're here, just in case I wake up tomorrow and find out you have to leave again."

The mood suddenly turned gloomy, so Celiko motioned for Bowser to hold her. He picked her up and sat her in the crook of his arm, much like he did when they had to part. "...Let's go in your room, it's cold in the hall."

In Bowser's chamber, they sat on his bed, thinking.

"Do you suppose they'll come looking for me?"

"I damn sure hope so," Bowser growled, before realizing how that sounded. "I mean, I don't want them to, but they're bastards if they don't wonder why their princess just up and disappeared."

"I'm not their princess, remember? I'm just Peach's cousin. They only came here in the first place because Toadette saw you chase after me and thought you kidnapped me. I don't think they'd come looking here again, the kids didn't leave any destruction or clues. Besides, why waste resources looking for someone who's not missed? Nobody would miss me."

"Not true," Bowser interjected. "There are seven little kids out there that would, and one big guy that intends to fight this time if they come to take you away."

"Is that big guy the same one who held me so tenderly the night before they took me away the last time? I'd like to be held just as tenderly right now if you don't mind..."

Bowser's eyes went wide at the request, and he had the door locked and his shell off before Celiko could even pull the ribbon from her hair.

* * *

Halfway through the night, Celiko woke to a strange noise. Her back and hips were throbbing and probably would for the rest of the week (no thanks to the voracious lug snoring beside her), but once she figured out what the noise was, she willed herself out of bed and hurried to the door. She threw on a robe from a nearby chair, then unlocked the door and scooped up the sobbing ball of blue hair and blankets.

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay... Your Papa just made a mistake and locked the door. It's okay. Here, you can lay next to me." Celiko pushed the blankets back and sat on the bed, then tucked Larry in right beside his father. As soon as she laid down he buried his head in her chest and hugged her tight.

Celiko listened closely for Larry's breathing, and closed her eyes when she thought he was out.

"Mama's really gonna live wif us now?"

He caught her off guard. "...If I can, Larry."

"Good. I want Mama to live wif us. I love Mama."

Celiko smiled, and the two nestled together as they went back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bowser is an animal. Poor Celiko is probably covered in love bites. :3


	8. Chapter 8

After about a week of dodging snogging attacks, watching friendly contests between brothers, and going on scavenger hunts with Larry and Wendy, Celiko was starting to make herself at home amongst the Koopalings. She was on a walk through the gardens when she had started feeling dizzy, and was fumbling around when she saw someone familiar.

"Hello, Miss Celiko, it has been a long time since we last met," Kamek said as he approached. "Sorry for not coming to you earlier, the master had sent me on an errand. You look ill, can I help you?"

"Hello, Kamek. Actually, yeah... I got a little dizzy just now."

Kamek helped her sit on a nearby bench, then checked for a fever. She felt okay. "I see. Something you ate?"

"I don't think so," she answered. "But to be honest, I'm not sure I recovered completely from Fawful's attack. Ever since then I've been feeling a little funny here and there... The smell of magic spells make me throw up, and I get real tired."

"Ah. Maybe you sensed another magikoopa nearby. Well, just to be sure, you should come with me so I can check you over. Come on." Kamek helped Celiko up, and led her back to the castle.

* * *

Celiko started to worry when she saw Kamek staring at the same little spellbook for the fifth time, then back to the vial on the desk. "Kamek, did something happen? Am I going to be okay?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong, you're okay!" he rattled off, then went right back to the same spellbook. This time Celiko stood up and hovered behind him as he paced, just close enough to hear him mumbling something that sounded like 'ornery brat' and 'I can't believe he found a way to do the impossible'.

"What's impossible?"

Kamek abruptly stopped his pacing, and turned to her. "Celiko, my dear, your problems aren't residual side effects from Fawful's attack. That much you can be sure of."

"Well then, what is it?"

"...A scientific breakthrough? By all accounts it shouldn't be possible, even the book says it's just not done. But we've got proof, it's done. Uhh... congratulations?"

By now Celiko was thoroughly confused, so she came over and yanked the book out of Kamek's hand. "...Oh. Oh my."

* * *

Bowser came strolling down the hall, trying desperately not to crush the huge bouquet of flowers in his hands. He had just received word from the paratroopa and shy guy team he had sent to the Mushroom Kingdom that Celiko's disappearance wasn't seen as suspicious. In fact, there was a rumor floating around that she had gone travelling. The shy guy found out from an informant that some of the maids had found Wendy's letters, and though they didn't know who wrote them, they assumed that's who Celiko had gone to visit. All this happy news had put Bowser in high spirits, and he was looking for the one to share it with.

"Celiko? Celiko? Huh, I wonder where she went... OH, KAMEK!"

Bowser saw Kamek slinking down the hall, and ran to intercept. "Where's Celiko, I need to see her right away!"

"Uh... Lady Celiko is in the garden," Kamek stammered. "She wanted some fresh air."

"Okay, outta my way!" Bowser pushed past Kamek and ran out into the garden, looking around for his love. He found her staring at a large topiary of himself, so he ran over and presented his bouquet.

"Um... I got these for you!"

Celiko turned from the bushes, and smiled at the large array of flowers presented to her. They were full of blues and purples, with several dark roses at the center. "They're beautiful! Thank you, Bowser..."

"I got you something else, too, though it's a lot smaller."

Bowser held out his hand, and in the middle was a small box. Celiko gasped, knowing what was inside before even having to open it.

"I know you're usually supposed to wait till you've known someone for a while before doing this, but... I don't feel like waiting. My kids don't feel like waiting. They want their Mama now. I want my kids to be happy. You make them happy. Will you please marry me, so we can make them happy?"

Celiko dropped the flowers and jumped into Bowser's arms, her answer an obvious yes. The two shared a passionate kiss, before Celiko leaned back and faced Bowser. "Actually, there's something I'd like to tell you, too. Have you noticed anything different about me?"

Bowser raised an eyebrow, then looked Celiko over. "Not really... You smile a lot more. And I think your hair might be a little longer. Is there something else?"

"You don't see it?" Celiko asked.

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything because it's rude but... you have gotten a little plumper than when we first met. But I figured it was because we actually have meals here in Dark Land instead of that fried mushroom meat they have where you lived..."

"Just a little bit ago, Kamek and I were talking," Celiko began, "about how I get dizzy sometimes and how I can't stand the smell of magic spells. I thought it was because of Fawful's attack. It's not."

Bowser furrowed his brow in concern. "You'll be okay, right?"

"Humans don't lay eggs."

"Yeah, I know that, what's that got to do with-"

"They grow babies inside of them."

"So?"

Celiko stared at Bowser, apparently the massive hints she'd dropped hadn't landed.

"W-what?! You mean... you're gonna have a baby?" Bowser suddenly jumped up in the air, then scooped Celiko up and twirled her around. "For real? This is AWESOME! But wait a second, I thought it took longer..."

"Kamek and I were talking," Celiko said once Bowser sat her down. "Some human women start growing around three months. Based on my symptoms, we had to have conceived right before I went back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Kamek thinks my body is growing a mini-egg inside my womb because of the species difference, so even though I'm only a little over two months I look over three months. Unfortunately though it means I was wrong when I told Wendy I wasn't pregnant."

"Oh who cares, MY CELIKO SAID YES AND WE'RE HAVING A BABY! THIS DAY ROCKS!!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this pregnancy stuff seems a little rushed, it's because I originally had Celiko himhawing around Bowser's castle for an extra month before revealing she was pregnant. The original idea was that she was afraid that staying in the Dark Lands would cause some kind of incident with the Mushroom Kingdom. Then I realized that was dumb, because nobody in the Mushroom Kingdom really cares about her. So now we're going to pretend that half-koopa pregnancies cause you to show early, and Wendy was right all along. :3


	9. Chapter 9

All seven Koopalings were settling down for dinner, when they heard rambunctious hooting and hollering from across the castle.

Ludwig helped Larry into his chair, before sitting down and taking his own plate. "What was that? Was that from Father?"

"Pops prolly stubbed his toe or something," Roy surmised, gnawing into a turkey leg and washing it down with purpleberry juice.

Wendy scoffed. "No, I'll bet he just found out about Mama's pregnancy."

Ludwig, Roy, and Lemmy simultaneously spit out their drinks, causing Iggy and Morton to grumble from getting hit with the backwash. Larry turned from his chair, and tugged on Ludwig's arm. "Ludo, what's 'preg-nan-cee' mean?"

"Wendy, don't spread rumors," Ludwig scolded.

Wendy adamantly shook her head in rebuttal. "Not a rumor, Ludo, Mama's in denial but this girl knows her human biology. Plus it's not like you couldn't tell. She's like, at least 3-4 by now and the tummy doesn't lie."

"3-4 what?" Roy asked.

"Human women grow their babies inside them instead of laying eggs," Iggy explained. "It takes 10 months from fertilization for offspring to grow. If she's 3-4 now, then expect a new sibling in 6-7 months. Though I'm curious to see how this interspecies conception works..."

Larry suddenly perked up. "Baby? Mama's gonna have a baby? Yay!"

"Ew, that means Dad and Mama did the do."

Lemmy smacked Morton over the back of his head. "Mort, shut up, you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for 'doing the do'. Ever think of that?"

Ludwig felt a headache coming on. "Hold on for a minute. How could Mother be 3-4 months along, they barely even met that long ago! I know Father is not exactly subtle with his affections, but the timing doesn't add up. You're jumping the gun, Wendy."

"Whatever, I'm telling you Mama's pregnant. Wait and see."

The rest of them were so distracted, that they failed to notice Larry sneaking away from the table. He bolted out of the room, and soon came across Bowser and Celiko returning arm in arm from the garden. He ran up to Celiko and happily leapt into her arms.

"Hi Larry, you're pretty happy. What is it?"

"Are you really gonna have a baby?"

Bowser choked back a cough in surprise, then looked to Celiko.

"Where'd you hear that?" she calmly asked him, far better than Bowser would have done.

"Wendy said you have a baby in your tummy. We heard Papa shouting and roaring, and Roy said he prolly stubbed his toe, but Wendy said you told him you had a 'preg-nan-cee' and that a baby would be coming and that made him really happy. Are you happy, Papa?"

Larry stared at his Papa with big puppy dog eyes, eventually causing Celiko to join in. Bowser grumbled, then scooped both of them up. "Of course I'm happy, runt! What kind of question was that? Your Mama and I are getting married, and in about eight months you're gonna be a big brother. What's there not to be happy about?"

"YOU AND MAMA ARE GETTING MARRIED?!" Larry gasped, and started bouncing in his Papa's arms. Eventually the other Koopalings came to see where Larry had gone, and found a defeated looking Bowser collapsed in the hall. Celiko sat contently in his lap, watching as Larry continued bouncing up and down on his Papa's shell. "Married! Married! Married!"

"...I'm gonna pound him." Bowser muttered, while Celiko wiped his brow with her hankie.

As she did so, Wendy noticed the ring on her left ring finger. "AHH! ENGAGEMENT RING!"

Roy lifted his sunglasses. "Woah, Pops popped the question? Nice."

Ludwig gave a bow. "My congratulations, Father, Mother."

Iggy and Lemmy pulled Larry off Bowser, quite possibly earning themselves a few extra desserts for the evening. "A wedding is just a ceremonial exchanging of vows, Larry," Iggy explained. "It won't make any difference in the way they feel about you! Calm down!"

"So I guess you kids know our little surprise, then," Celiko said, turning the ring on her hand. "Truth be told, I feel more at home here than I ever did in the Mushroom Kingdom. Sure it's a little hot, and I don't have the benefit of a shell to protect me from the terrain, but it's nice and cozy. And I'm sure I'll need somewhere nice and cozy once this little one starts growing," she added, patting her stomach. "I hope you don't mind having another sibling..."

Seven shouts of "nope!" filled the air, making Celiko smile. Bowser helped her to her feet, and the nine of them retreated into the dinner hall for a nice family meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder if their dad will realize that half the dinner was already eaten before he and Celiko got there... :3


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tired of fighting with this chapter, so I'm just going to release it.

Peach was walking down a hallway in her castle, when she noticed the door to Celiko's bedroom was slightly ajar. When she came over and peeked inside, she saw someone familiar throwing things into a suitcase on the bed.

"...Celiko? Celiko, it is you! Where have you been?!" The leader of the Mushroom Kingdom ran inside the room to greet her cousin, but immediately screamed when she saw who else was inside with her.

"Ugh, did she have to scream like that? I didn't even do anything," Bowser grumbled, and crossed his arms in disgust.

Celiko sat down the pile of dresses she was holding on the bed, then motioned for Peach to calm down. "Peach, it's okay. Please, don't cause a commotion. I can explain..."

"What's he doing here? Did he kidnap you? Is he making you pack your things?" Peach then took a quick glance over Celiko, and noticed several things. She seemed to be a lot more cheery, and was almost glowing. Her hair was usually just tied back with little care, but today it was gathered in a bunch over her shoulder, curled and interwoven with small white ribbons that trailed up to a beautiful silver tiara atop her forehead. Peach never saw her wear jewelry before, especially regalia, so to see her wearing a crown studded with seven colorful gemstones as well as a sparkling diamond ring was shocking.

"Peach... I'm moving out of the castle," Celiko explained. "Bowser is here to help carry my things for me. He didn't come to kidnap anyone, and isn't going to cause any trouble."

"What do you mean you're moving out?" Peach looked at her in confusion. "Celiko, where have you been all this time? No one has seen you in at least a month!"

"I was gone for two months, Peach," Celiko corrected, before sitting down on the bed and sighing. "But more importantly, why does it matter? No one really cared what I did before, why do you care what I do now? The truth of the matter is that I am moving out because I have a family to take care of now." She smiled at Bowser and took his hand, then looked back to Peach and patted her stomach. "A month ago we married and became husband and wife, and we're already expecting the next member of the family. Once I finish packing, we'll leave you in peace and you won't be bothered by us again."

Peach recoiled in horror. "Married?! Oh My Stars, what has gotten into you? He's an ugly monster! Him and those _things_ he calls kids, how could you _love_ something like-"

Celiko stood up and slapped Peach across the face with everything she had, then collapsed sobbing into Bowser's chest. He let out an angry roar that caused Peach to run frightened from the room, then threw a chair against the door, slamming it shut so no one else would disturb them.

"Salty bitch!" Bowser snapped, then cradled Celiko. "Don't listen to her, she's just jealous that you've got a husband who takes care of you and isn't afraid of commitment like that useless mustached oaf of hers."

As Bowser rubbed her back, Celiko's shaking slowly subsided. "...I wanna go home."

"Alright. Did you get everything you need?"

"...Wendy's letters and the mementos from my parents?"

"The first things we packed."

"Then let's just go."

"You took the time to grab those dresses, don't you want them too? You'll look pretty..." Bowser curled a finger in her hair, then straightened her tiara, eliciting a smile. It was her wedding gift from the kids, with the different stones matching their shells. "Alright. Now let's get back to our little goofballs before we find out they've set the kitchen on fire again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate to say it, but it's going to get sad after this chapter... but I promise it will get better! I don't like tragedies very much.
> 
> Anyone interested in what Celiko's tiara looks like, can click [here](http://defunctzombie.tumblr.com/post/132779161684/this-little-tiara-belonged-to-queen-victoria-and).


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry folks, sad time. :( Also timeskip time. Just pretend the seven month interim was filled with cuddles and playtime and lots of Bowser pawing Celiko whenever he got the chance. :3

**Seven months later**

On a flowery hill just outside the castle, Ludwig Von Koopa hesitantly veered off of the path. The eldest Koopaling checked the area for danger, before returning and helping Celiko up the hill. "Be careful, Mother, it's very windy. I don't want you to slip and fall."

"Ludo, I've been up enough hills in my time. Besides, we're only coming out here to pick some flowers for your Papa's birthday, and have a little picnic. I may be about to pop, but I can still handle that much, don't you think?" Celiko hiked up her dress and took Ludwig's hand, careful not to trip over her hem. She didn't want to admit it, but she had plumped up quite a bit, even to where it was hard to see her feet. She was relieved the baby was due next week.

"Mother," Ludo asked as they sat and ate their lunch, "do you have any idea what the baby will look like?"

"Kamek thinks the baby will be a Koopaling like you," she answered, after adjusting her tiara from the wind. "I've gotten a little bigger than I should have, so he thinks his egg theory is correct. I've probably got a nice soft egg ready to hatch inside me."

Ludwig grinned before adding, "...Boy or girl?"

"I know your Papa's hoping for a little girl," she answered, "but I'm just happy I'll get to hold the little cutie soon. I could use your help coming up with some names, though."

"Still haven't decided on any, huh?" Ludwig laughed. "Wendy has a list a mile long, you might want to consult with her."

The two finished their picnic and made to leave, when they heard a whining sound above their heads. A bright flash filled the sky, and several bolts of lightening pelted the ground. Celiko screamed, and Ludwig dove overtop her to shield her. When the smoke cleared, Ludwig helped Celiko sit up but kept a tight protective hold over her.

"Mother, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I think I'm okay..." she answered, rubbing her belly. "But where did this weather come from? I've never seen it- !!!"

Celiko cut short her sentence, and gripped Ludwig in panic. A figure emerged from the smoke, a figure she had hoped never to see again.

* * *

Bowser was sitting in the dining room, wondering what surprise Celiko had in store, when several worried koopa troopas burst into the room.

"Sir, sir! There's been reports of an artificial lightening storm on the hill where the Queen was picnicking!"

Bowser took off in an instant, with Kamek, Roy, and a paratroopa unit following close behind. When they arrived at the hill they found nothing but a picnic blanket, an empty basket, and a crushed bouquet of flowers left behind.

"...This must have been her surprise," Bowser mumbled, scooping up the flowers before letting out an anguished roar. "I WANT WHOEVER TOOK HER EVISCERATED!"

"Hey Pops, c'mere!" Roy picked up a claw from the grass, and held it out to his father. "Koopa claw, pretty big one at that. If you ain't missin' any..."

"Ludwig..." Bowser took the claw, then erupted. "SHIT! My wife, our unborn child, and now my eldest son?! WHO THE HELL DID THIS?!"

After circling the immediate area and finding no further threats, Kamek ordered paratroopas on patrol and regrouped with Bowser and Roy. "Sir, I can sense teleportation magic but I can't pinpoint the source or the destination. But on the positive side, the only injury I can sense is the broken claw. She's okay."

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Bowser snapped, and gripped his head in panic. "God, the baby's coming next week... This can't be happening..."

Roy came over and patted his father's arm. "It's okay, Pops. Ludo's with Mom, he'll take care of her until we find them."

"I sure hope so, Roy. I hope so..."

* * *

Ludwig came around with a pounding headache, in an unfamiliar room. "Unnh..."

"It's okay, Ludo, stay down." Celiko dabbed his head with her handkerchief. "I wrapped your hand as best I could, but it might be sore for a few days."

"Never mind about me," he said, sitting up and taking in their location. They were in a semi-dark room resembling a dungeon cell, though it had walls and a door instead of bars. He was laying atop a ratty pillow and a few blankets, and he could see that Celiko had been granted the same luxury. They had a small window near the ceiling for light, but that was it. "Mother, are you alright? Did they harm you?"

Celiko gave him a weak smile. "They didn't harm me."

"You didn't answer my first question. Tell me."

"...My back hurts a little."

Ludwig stood up and gathered his meager bedding to combine with hers. "Come on, Mother, lay down. We can't have any excitement now, not until Father comes and saves us."

"UNLIKELY!"

Just then the door opened, and their captor flew in on a floating car. Ludwig took one look at him and spit out a fireball, which was easily dodged.

"Stupid koopa offspring with the blue hair of ridiculousness!" The car flew forward, revealing the captor to be a crispy yet alive Fawful. "This car has been redesigned to automatically fly out of the way of your stupid koopa fires. Shoot all the pitiful fire puffs you want, all you will do is succeed at the making of the smoky room."

"What do you want with us, Fawful?" Celiko demanded, after pulling Ludwig back from what was sure to be a suicidal attack on the Beanish fiend.

"I want the revenge, Princess of Water who has apparently gotten very fat from the living with the idiot father Koopa of seven kids." Fawful flew forward, and poked Celiko in the face. "I was intending to use you as bargaining chip for taking over Kingdom of Mushroomish, since I was not able to kidnap the Peachy one. But then that fat turtle came and burned up all Fawful's plans! Well now I'll burn up all his plans for happy futures! Enjoy living in this jail, instead of the Castle of Dark!"

The door slammed shut as Fawful departed, though a few seconds later someone opened a hatch and tossed in two bowls of gruel. Ludwig took a page from his father's book and cursed a few times, but stopped when he sensed something was wrong.

"...Mother, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine... ugh." Celiko winced in pain, and shivered.

"No, you're not," he realized, helping her lay down. "Does your back still hurt?"

"Uh huh."

"Then stay as still as you can." He looked over to the gruel, and after determining it wasn't poisoned, gave her both bowls. "You better eat these, you'll need your strength."

"Ludo, I'm scared..." Celiko gripped his hand, with tears in her eyes. "What if he doesn't get here before the baby comes? What are we gonna do...?"

"Don't cry, Mama," the eldest Koopaling said as he held her hand. "He'll come get us, though we don't have to worry if he's a little late. Because I turned sixteen this year, and I'm going to take care of you. You're my Mama after all."

Celiko gave her brave son a little smile, and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Ludo..."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand this will be it for the weekend. Read the note at the end after reading the chapter!

Bowser was at the end of his rope. He missed her. She had become his entire life, and he felt empty without her. The kids were just as devastated. They had grown accustomed to having a mother in their life again, and now she had been taken away. Wendy missed Celiko's female influence, and was concerned about the new baby. Lemmy and Iggy ran out of ideas for projects, because they lost their source of inspiration. Roy and Morton had no one to burn off their energy with, and ended up laying around listlessly. And of course the youngest Koopaling was hit the worst; poor Larry didn't understand why his Mama and the new baby were taken away, and couldn't sleep. No one could; the bedroom hallway was too quiet without their older brother's piano filling the air.

Bowser and Kamek had searched every corner of the Dark Lands for Celiko and Ludwig, to no avail. They weren't in Pipe Land, Grass Land, Ice Land, Desert Land, Sky Land, Giant Land, Dinosaur Land, or even her old home of Water Land. He had even broken down and asked Peach and Daisy if they had seen either of them. Peach and her staff were shocked to see Bowser so worn out, and had even asked Mario and Luigi for help. After exhausting nearly all their contacts, they finally had a lead... from the Beanbean Kingdom.

* * *

Ludwig kept on alert as he heard someone approaching the cell, but backed off when the food door opened and two bowls of gruel were thrown in. He took the usual precautionary bite out of each bowl, but then handed both of them off to Celiko. "You'd think they'd be considerate and give you an extra bowl..."

"It's okay, Ludo, we'll be fine," she replied. "If you think about it, we could have been treated a lot worse than we have been." She then looked down at her lap. "It's okay... Papa is going to come save us soon..."

Ludwig lowered his head in sadness, but then tensed up when he felt a rumbling through the floor. Celiko felt it too and cowered into the corner, just as Ludwig sprang up and used his body to shield her from any potential attacks. He stood tensed, facing the door as the floor and walls continued to rumble. When the rumbling stopped, he heard several indistinct voices on the other side of the door. They got quiet, then suddenly someone was forcing the lock. Celiko whimpered and Ludwig growled as the door opened, and they were blinded by bright light and smoke. When it cleared, a small creature stepped forward.

"...Ludo?"

Ludwig squinted through the clearing smoke, unsure if he heard right. Sure enough, a pair of pink winged sunglasses soon came into view, followed by a shiny pink head.

"Roy?"

"Ludo, it is you!" Roy ran back out into the hall. "Over here, I found them! They're alive!" Heavy steps then came thundering down the hall, and the door was soon torn off its hinges by a winded and worried Koopa King.

Bowser came running as soon as Roy called, and ripped the wall off the prison that kept his family from him. The first thing he saw was a surprised Ludwig, and he just couldn't help taking his eldest in his arms. "Ludo, you rotten brat, how could you do this to your old man?" he joked, tears welling up in his eyes.

"...I missed you too, Father," Ludwig answered, returning his embrace and hugging him tight. "But you'll be happy to know Sir, that I tried my best to toast my enemies whenever possible, just like you taught me."

"That's my boy!" Bowser said with pride, patting his son on the back. When he opened his eyes after the hug, he saw his love in the corner waiting patiently for him. He let Ludwig go and hurried over to Celiko, who until this moment carried a grin but stayed entirely silent. That was when he noticed she had a large blanket lump _in her arms_ , not on her stomach.

"Look, Junior, Papa's come to rescue us!" she said, turning down the blanket and revealing a little green head with tiny horns and a lock of fluffy orange hair on top. "We're finally gonna go home and meet sissy and your other bruvvies!"

Astonished, Bowser collapsed beside Celiko and stared in awe at the little Koopaling huddled in her arms. He had been so focused on finding Celiko and Ludwig that he lost track of time, and hadn't realized that her due date had come and gone. His eyes welled up, and he reached a finger out to the little guy. "D...did you say... Junior...?"

"It was the only logical choice," she answered, chuckling as Junior shied away into her chest. "He looks so much like his father, I just had to give him your name. Would Bowser Senior like to hold Bowser Junior?"

"Y-yeah," he stammered, before holding his arms out. She gingerly laid the baby in his arms, watching with a smile as father and son stared wide eyed at each other. Junior reached up and pulled at his Papa's eyebrow, making the two other children chuckle. Bowser growled slightly from the pain, causing Junior to fuss.

"...Mama!"

"It's okay, baby, I'm right here. Papa didn't mean to," she cooed after hearing Junior call, and kissed his cheek. "Right Papa?"

Bowser was dumbfounded. "He can talk already?!"

"Mother went into labor right after they captured us," Ludwig explained. "That was, what, three months ago? If I remember correctly, Iggy started talking around that age."

"It's amazing how quickly he's growing," Celiko said as she leaned against Bowser. "Human babies usually don't start talking until they're a year old, and they don't have their hair that soon either. Though, I suppose he would have grown a little more if he had more than breast milk to eat..."

"I'm so sorry, baby..." Bowser said, pulling Celiko under his arm and nuzzling her head under his chin. "We looked everywhere for you, I even broke down and asked Peach and Mario for help. That's how we figured out Fawful did it. But this time I ripped him apart. He won't be harming you again." Bowser then turned to his newest son. "I'm sorry I missed your birth, little guy. But I know everyone's excited to meet you, so we better get you home right away. I hope you didn't cause Mommy too much trouble when you came out..."

"His little horns were thankfully soft then, otherwise that would have really hurt," she joked. "You know that egg Kamek said I was growing? It was like a little membrane around Junior. When I went into labor, it broke like in a normal human pregnancy, but the membrane stayed around him from the neck down. So it kind of kept his shell from stabbing me on the way out, if that makes sense. Ludo did a very good job delivering him."

"I didn't know you were a doctor, Ludo," Roy joked, slapping him on the back. "Can I hold the little guy?"

"Of course you can," Celiko said, wrapping Junior in the blanket and handing him to Roy. "Junior, this is your brother Roy. Say hello..."

"Hey, he does look like Pops! Hi, Junior. Nice to meet you!"

Junior responded by poking Roy in the nose. "Mama!"

"Ow!"

"He must be a little overstimulated," she guessed, taking Junior back and kissing Roy's nose, causing him to blush. "Let's just go home, Bowser. There's a little blue guy who I'm worried sick about, especially since his father isn't there to comfort him..."

"He's been just as worried about the two of you," Bowser replied, standing and scooping up Celiko and the baby. "He was afraid they'd take the new baby away if we didn't find you in time. But he'll be thrilled to meet Junior, especially since he was expecting a little sister."

Celiko let out a little chuckle. "...Wendy?"

Bowser nodded. "Yeah, she kept saying it had to be a girl because you were glowing so much. Didn't help that Iggy backed her up with his mathematics and junk. 'The sex of the child is determined at conception, based on the gamete of the father with a fifty percent chance for either sex. Given that 85.74 percent of us have been male, it is highly likely that your next child will be another female child.' I don't know what half that means."

"Don't worry Papa, we'll get you another little girl," Celiko mumbled, as she happily settled into Bowser's arms for the ride home. "Oh Junior, just wait until we get home. You're gonna get a nice warm bath, and we'll get you some comfy jammies, then you can say hi to the rest of our family! It'll be so nice..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I'll bet you weren't expecting that little bundle quite so soon, huh. Yes, Celiko's trouble at the end of the previous chapter was actually the start of her labor. And unfortunately, Bowser Jr. came into the world in Fawful's jail cell. But big brother Ludo stepped up to the plate and helped his mother through it. Bowser was so focused on finding them that he totally forgot about the baby, and probably thought he'd find them with Celiko still pregnant. Thankfully that wasn't the case, because if so then you know something would have been terribly wrong.
> 
> I originally planned to have them stuck in the cell for a year, but shortened it to three months because I couldn't stand hurting poor Bowser and the kids any more than that.
> 
> Happy birthday, Junior!


	13. Chapter 13

After Bowser, Roy, and Kamek took off for the Beanbean Kingdom, the other five Koopalings paced around the castle on pins and needles. Kammy couldn't get any of them to do their chores, since all they would do was mope or take turns watching for Bowser from the lookout.

Lemmy was the first one to spot his father returning to the castle, and shouted at the top of his lungs to alert the others. The five of them stampeded down the hallway and out the front door, and would have tackled Bowser had Ludwig and Roy not heard them coming.

"Woah, watch it you guys! Don't knock into Father, or he'll drop Mother!" Ludwig warned, catching Larry as he anxiously broke from the pack.

"Yeah, Listen to Ludo," Roy piped in, blocking the way. "Mama's sleepin but she's also holdin somethin very special that we don't want dropped. Hold ya horses!"

"Move it, Roy, we wanna see Mama!" Wendy yelled, and jabbed Roy in the gut. She pushed past him as he doubled over, and ran up to her father. "Mama? Is she okay? And the baby?"

"Mama's okay, Wendy, she's just asleep..."

"No, I'm awake," Celiko mumbled as she opened her eyes. "Sit me down."

Bowser sat down with Celiko in his lap, and the children all watched as she shifted the little bundle in her arms. Once Larry realized Celiko was awake, he broke out of Ludwig's hold and joined Wendy by his Mama's side.

"Wendy, Larry, there's someone here who wants to meet you," Celiko said, and unrolled Junior's blanket. He yawned and dozed back off against her chest, not bothered in the least by all the attention.

Larry crawled onto Bowser's lap beside Celiko, and leaned on her shoulder. "Baby?"

"Yes, honey, this is your little brother," she answered, running her fingers through Larry's hair. "His name is Bowser, just like Papa. But you can call him Junior."

"He's adorable!" Wendy cooed, and rubbed his cheek. "Lemmy, Mort, Iggy, come look at our new baby brother!"

While Bowser took his infant son and introduced him to the other kids, Larry crawled in Celiko's lap and hugged her tight. "Mama, I missed you..."

Celiko returned his hug, and kissed his forehead. "I missed you, too, Larry. I was worried you would have trouble falling asleep..."

"You'd be proud of me, Mama," Larry said, sitting up. "I only cried three times! Well, maybe four... But Papa let me sleep with him every night. We kept the bed warm for when you came back, and I even helped Papa make a cradle for the baby!"

"That's very sweet of you, Larry."

"Mama, whose room's the baby gonna sleep in?"

"Hmm?" She was thrown off by his odd question. "Well, he'll sleep in the room with me and Papa in his cradle of course. He's far too little for his own room yet."

"Can I still sleep with you?"

"Of course you can!"

"Even when I turn four?"

Celiko sensed something in his tone. "Larry, what's wrong?"

Larry bowed his head and started mumbling. "...Lemmy said I have to stop being a sissy and that I'm not the baby anymore so I have to grow up and start acting like everyone else."

Celiko gasped at what she just heard, and turned to Bowser who was already glaring a hole into Lemmy. "Larry, you are three years old," he grumbled. "It doesn't matter if you've already got your teeth in, or that you're taking after Ludo and growing a little bit more muscle. You're still a baby even if you're not _the_ baby. Now I don't want to hear any more of that nonsense out of anyone, understand? Family members don't demean each other!"

Lemmy nodded, but then slunk away back to the castle. Celiko noticed, and worried that something might be wrong. "Larry, sit with your Papa and Junior for a minute."

"Okay."

Celiko got up and followed Lemmy into the castle, finding him sitting in the empty dining room and flicking things off the table. "Hi..."

"You're gonna yell at me, aren't you?" he asked, keeping his head down. "I wasn't trying to bully him, honest..."

"I'm not mad at you, Lemmy," she explained, sitting in the chair next to his. "I know you wouldn't be mean to your brother on purpose."

"I just thought it would be better if he detached himself, that's all! I remember what happens with a new baby. I may be small but I'm not dumb! I didn't want him to get ignored and hurt like when I- oof!"

Celiko interrupted Lemmy by grabbing him and hugging him tight, herself on the verge of tears. "Oh Lemmy, don't tell me she ignored you after Roy was born? Oh baby, just because Junior came out of me doesn't mean I'm going to prefer him over the rest of you! All of you are my babies!" She then cupped his head, and kissed his stripe birthmark. "My beautiful little acrobat... You're allowed to sleep with us too if you want..."

Lemmy blushed, and tried to wiggle away. Celiko had her hands tightly around him, though, and used his open tummy to her advantage.

"No way, I'm twelve years old! I don't need to sleep with my Mamaaaaaa... Ahaha... stop... tickles... ahahaha!"

"Nope, you get tickles!"

When Bowser and the rest of the kids came in and found one exhausted Koopaling in the arms of one beaming Mama, they knew the situation had been resolved as only she knew how. "There's that grin again," Bowser remarked, handing her a fussy Junior. "You don't have another baby hiding in here, do you?"

"No, just Lemmy," she answered. "I grin when I'm happy. My children make me happy."

"That's why I married you," Bowser joked. "Well, that and the sex."

"Bowser! Not in front of the children!"

"Ludo's our babysitter, right? Cause I think we need a babysitter..." he purred, pawing her as she turned bright red.

"Stop that! For heaven sakes I've been in a jail cell for the last three months, and I probably still have afterbirth stuck on me! Ah!"

"Don't care..."

Lemmy hopped down out of Celiko's lap, and the rest of the kids, Junior included, watched as Bowser made it clear just how happy he was to have Celiko back home. He kissed her cheeks, neck, and forehead, all the while causing Celiko to turn bright red and giggle.

"Hey Papa, why don't you let Ludo and I watch Junior while you give Mama a _bath_?"

Celiko and Bowser both stopped in their tracks and turned to Wendy, who was snickering like a fiend after offering her suggestion.

"Wendy! What-"

"What an excellent suggestion!" Bowser finished. "You don't mind, do you Ludo?"

"Not at all, Father," Ludwig answered with a grin.

"...Well alright. Just a bath." Celiko handed Ludwig his baby brother, who wasn't bothered by him due to their time together in the cell. "If anything goes wrong, you come get me immediately, okay? Mommy's just gonna fend off Papa in the bathtub for a little bit, then it'll be your turn, okay sweetums?"

Junior happily babbled back, so Celiko kissed him and let Ludwig take him over to the corner where some of Larry's toys were laid out. She watched as the kids spread out into a circle, with Larry showing Junior some stuffed animals in the middle.

Celiko's view was disrupted as she was suddenly slung up over Bowser's shoulder and escorted out of the room.

"Hey, wait, the kids...!"

"They'll be fine, Kammy's gonna come keep an eye on them. You and me are gonna go spend some quality time in the bath, who knows we might even conceive another one."

"WHAT?!"

"A joke, pumpkin, a joke," Bowser said with a laugh, though he couldn't help caressing her bottom as he carried her down the hall. "Though you never know what the future holds..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the family is back together again! Yay! To be honest, I was considering ending the main story here, and continuing through a sequel. But what I think I might do is keep this story open, and just write oneshot chapters until I come up with another storyline. Because we can't let the cuties disappear, right? :3


	14. Bonus 1: Be Careful What You Wish For...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the first of hopefully many oneshots to come concerning the Koopa family. Enjoy!

Though his comments were meant in jest, Bowser and Celiko did in fact conceive the next Koopaling shortly after reuniting. Celiko didn't realize she was expecting until the baby was four months along, and thought that since she wasn't gaining very much weight, this time it was going to be a human like her.

Wendy and Larry immediately decided the baby was a girl, and wouldn't even let Celiko consider any boy names or buy any boy outfits. Celiko liked to dress Junior in pajamas and onesies when he was out of his shell, and anytime he outgrew one, Wendy tried to take it so Celiko couldn't reuse it. Eventually it annoyed Bowser to where she wasn't allowed to help take care of him anymore.

Celiko didn't mind the speculation, though, and secretly encouraged them- she had a gut feeling that this little baby was going to be a girl. When it became closer to delivery and she hadn't grown much bigger, everyone started to worry that something might be wrong. But then labor started, and this time in a proper room instead of a cell, Celiko gave birth to a healthy little girl she named Emmy.

They discovered the reason why Celiko hadn't grown too large in her pregnancy immediately after Emmy was born. The biggest difference between her and Junior was that Emmy lacked a shell. Emmy was unique in that she resembled a human, but she had both human and Koopaling features.

She had the same peachy skin tone as Celiko, with her head and her belly all the same color. She had soft strawberry blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a tiny little koopa nose, and cat like lips that she shared with four of her brothers. She had a tail, and the beginnings of claws at her fingertips. The cutest thing of all though, was that she had a birthmark above her right cheek of a blue star. A birthmark she shared with one of her brothers.

* * *

"The new baby is a girl? YAY!" Larry hopped up and down in excitement the moment Kammy gave him the good news. He and Junior both had been dying to get back in the room and see their Mama, ever since they were kicked out this morning when she started having contractions. Junior sucked on his pacifier but made it clear how anxious he was by pulling on big brother Larry's arm and pointing at the door.

"Yeah, Junior, I know, I wanna see Mama, too! But Kammy says we have to wait!"

"You boys aren't going to have to wait much longer," Kammy said, pulling them away from the door by their shells. "Your mother is getting herself cleaned up first, then she'll let you in. Now I'm going to go tell Ludwig and the rest of the kids the good news. Stay put until your father lets you in, understand? Don't go in before that!"

"Yes, Kammy," Larry answered, and watched the elderly magikoopa disappear down the hall. When he turned back, he discovered Junior had crawled back to the door and was reaching for the doorknob.

"No, Junior, didn't you listen? We have to wait for Papa!" Larry scrambled over to stop him, but in the process they accidentally knocked the door open. The two Koopalings tumbled into the room, and looked up to see their father glaring down at them. "Uh oh..."

"Yeah, 'uh oh'. What are you brats up to, barging in here?" Bowser chuckled, scooping his two youngest boys up and turning toward the bed. "Hey girls, visitors already."

Celiko looked up and smiled at the boys, and motioned for Bowser to bring them over. "How are my little princes doing? Would they like to meet their little sister?"

"YES!" Larry shouted, and dove out of his father's arms onto the bed. He crawled up to Celiko and laid his chin on her shoulder, watching in awe as she unwrapped Emmy. "Hi, little baby... What's her name?"

"Her name is Emmy," she answered, stroking her cheek. "Say hi to Emmy, Junior..."

Junior looked at the sleeping baby girl, then spit out his pacifier. "Baa baa."

"Hey, goof, that's not how you say hello," Bowser chided, as Larry leaned in closer to her.

"Wait, hey Mama...! She's got a star on her cheek! Just like me!"

Celiko grinned. "I guess that means the two of you will be very close as you grow up. You'll have to take good care of her, especially since Emmy doesn't have a shell to protect her."

"You bet!" Larry said, hopping off the bed and acting like a knight. "Nobody's gonna hurt Emmy! Me and Junior will make sure she's safe! Right, Junior?"

"Baa baa."

"No Junior, you're sposta say 'uh-huh' or 'yessir' or something."

"Baa baa!" Junior then made a saluting motion, causing Celiko and Bowser to laugh.

"But I hope Wendy isn't jealous," Larry mumbled, after crawling back onto the bed and snuggling next to Celiko. "I don't know if I can protect Emmy from that..."

"Jealous of what? Wendy wanted a sister more than you did!" Bowser piped in.

"Yeah but..." Larry checked to make sure no one was coming up the hall, then mumbled to Celiko, "...Emmy has hair."

The color drained from Celiko's face, as Bowser bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Larry, um, that's... that's not a nice thing to say about your older sister," Celiko scolded, herself trying to hold back a giggle. "Now go get your siblings."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the bad news is that Bowser's joke about conceiving a new baby at the end of the story was ill timed, and Junior ended up with a sister as a belated birthday present. Oopsie!
> 
> The good news is that with this little addition, the Koopa family will be whole (or so we hope, Celiko is young after all). :3 I know it's tough to deal with a pregnancy so soon after recovering from one, but I felt like this would be the easiest way to set up the story for future oneshots. Plus I had to get Emmy into the story somehow. Just you wait, though- her, Larry, and Junior are going to be best buds, and will probably get themselves into all kinds of shenanigans. But of course Emmy is going to be Daddy's little angel, and won't be blamed for any of it. ;)


	15. Bonus 2: Family part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! We have a bit of a time jump here, 6 years. :3 This is going to be the first part of a multiple chapter story arc, involving a previously unmet yet mentioned character. Anyone want to guess who? Not sure how many chapters it will run, but it will be at least two.

Emmy sat on the bed, dangling her feet over the side as Celiko tended to her daughter's long strawberry blonde hair. "Mommy, how come boys' heads aren't the same color as their bodies? Daddy and Larry and Junior and everybody else all have different colors but you and me and Sissy don't."

Celiko thought for a second before answering. "That's a good question, cutie pie. To tell you the truth, even after eight years living among koopas, there's a lot I don't know about them. Like for example, only Papa's family have big spiky shells and different colored heads, but their noses aren't beaks like the other koopas. Nope, you all have cute button noses."

Emmy giggled as Celiko pecked her nose. As she had grown out of infancy, Emmy's face took the same shape as a human's, though she still retained an almost feline like nose and lips. "Mommy, am I still a koopa even though I don't have a shell?"

"Of course you are," Celiko answered with a smile. "You're very much a koopa. You have a little koopa tail, cute koopa nails and toes, and of course the adorable koopa smile! Besides, I've seen plenty of koopas who've actually _lost_ their shells because they were careless."

"But I'm still a human like you, right?"

"You are my baby girl," Celiko said, picking her up and rubbing their noses together, "and that makes you half human. But we are all of the family Koopa, no matter what we are."

Emmy was satisfied with Celiko's answer, and gave her mother a big hug. While they embraced, the door creaked open and a big admirer leaned against the door frame.

"...Hey, what's taking my birthday date so long?"

"Daddy!" Emmy hopped down from Celiko's lap, and ran straight into Bowser's arms.

"How's my beautiful baby girl today?" Bowser kissed Emmy, then rubbed her cheek. "Are you all ready for your big birthday party?"

"Yes, Daddy!"

"Don't get her all stirred up, dear," Celiko said as she finished combing her own hair and donned her tiara, which had an emerald and a citrine stone added for the two youngest children. "It's not going to be anything extravagant."

"Of course it will be, this is my little sunshine's sixth birthday party! We gave Junior one hell of a party last month, so I promised I would give Emmy an even bigger party this month. Isn't that right, snookums?" Bowser twirled Emmy around making her laugh, then gave her several little kisses. "Only the best for my baby."

Bowser took Celiko's hand, and led her and Emmy out to the garden where everything was set up. "Since Mommy and Emmy both like flowers, we decided to have the party outside. Neat idea, huh?"

"Yay! I love you, Daddy!" Emmy kissed Bowser once more, then hopped out of his arms and ran over to play with Larry and Junior.

"Be careful..."

Bowser raised an eyebrow, and looked to his wife. "Huh?"

"Your favoritism is showing again," Celiko mumbled as she leaned on Bowser's shoulder.

"No it's not," he rebuked, and swept her under his arm. "I may spend a lot of time with my baby girl, but that doesn't mean I treat her differently than I do the others. For Ludo's 21st birthday I made him general of my entire army for crying out loud. That's second in line to the throne! And if you're worried that I'm slighting Wendy, all she cares about right now is that we let her hang out with her boyfriend. She doesn't mind that I'm playing with Emmy."

"Okay, but how about that rumor I heard about you giving Junior control of my homeland that you liberated from the Kuribo army when he comes of age?" Celiko asked, raising her eyebrow and pinching his cheek. "Lemmy is the next oldest, not Junior."

Bowser cringed. "You found out about that, huh? Well, it's just that Lemmy isn't technically related to you, and I thought you'd want it kept in the bloodline. Plus Lemmy isn't really into ruling anyway..."

"Then we have five other children in line before Junior, dear."

"Oh baby... Alright, so I show a little favoritism toward the kids that I fathered with the one true love of my life. But that doesn't mean my other kids are any less important. Hell, you remember when Iggy caught koopa pox four years ago..."

Celiko nuzzled with her husband. "Yes, you wouldn't leave his side the whole week. Poor boy, even after he woke back up, you and Lemmy spent all of your time with him. Larry and I had to fill in and play ball with Roy and Mort, since Ludo took your place with Kamek at court and Wendy doesn't like sports. It's not easy to do that with two needy toddlers."

"No, and Iggy appreciates you filling in for him." Bowser looked over to Larry and Junior chasing Emmy, and sighed. "I'm actually trying my hardest to dote on Junior and Emmy now while they're little kids, because I feel bad for not doting on the rest of them when they were little. It was a rough time back then. I had work to deal with and that bitch was always disappearing, usually leaving either Kammy or Kamek to try and keep everyone calm until I could get back."

Celiko sighed, and hugged Bowser tight. She hated thinking about how the children's biological mother mistreated them, especially what she did to Larry. "The poor babies..."

"Yeah, that's why I started letting them help me terrorize Peach and her mushrooms. It was dangerous, but they were pretty happy when they were fighting 'stache boy. Well, except for Larry. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to let a two year old play with a magic wand... That Mario jerk burned him with a fireball pretty quickly. Then the next time I put him it the castle right beside mine, thinking it'd be safe, and what does that plumbin' bum do? He knocks my baby boy into a pit of lava! Bastard!"

"It's okay, I'm sure Larry loved the chance to help his Papa," Celiko said, running her fingers through Bowser's hair to calm him down. "He idolizes you, him and Junior both. I know the other kids adore you as well, even if they don't show it as much. Why do you think Lemmy and Roy still hang around even though they're technically adults?"

"Because they love their mummy," he answered, and nipped at Celiko's neck as she giggled from the light tickles he administered to her unguarded sides. The two eventually settled under a willow tree Celiko had planted, and watched the kids play. Roy, Morton, and Lemmy were hovering over the dessert table waiting to see who would falter and lose the staring match for the last piece of cake, while Ludwig and Iggy discussed the finer points of Koopa armaments. Wendy of course was completely absorbed in talking with her boyfriend.

"Such a nice family moment," Bowser hummed, leaning against the tree with Celiko in his lap. "All of them so peaceful, not fighting at all..."

"Mmm."

"Our family is whole..."

Celiko closed her eyes, and leaned back on Bowser's shoulder. "...Room for one more?"

Bowser flinched in surprise. "You don't mean you're...?"

"I'm not at the moment," she smiled. "But I wouldn't mind adding another little cutie to our family. To be honest, considering how close Junior and Emmy were, I thought we'd have a whole clan by now. But I guess fate worked out differently."

"You sound disappointed," Bowser mumbled sadly, but then started grinning and snaked his hands around her hips. "Want me to take you inside and _correct the situation_? I'll have you with child in no time..."

"Honey..." Celiko protested with a giggle, but settled into her husband's warm, protective embrace as he peppered little kisses across her neck and shoulders.

Across the garden, Wendy looked up and grabbed her boyfriend's shoulder with a grin. "...See over there, under the tree? Relationship goals, right there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Koopa pox is from ["Not a Monster"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3628743) by Cyndi.


	16. Bonus 2: Family part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, still at it with this story! There is at least one more part to this arc, which I will try to write in a timely manner... :x

"Mama, when will we get another brother or sister?"

Celiko nearly dropped her laundry basket from such a question, and turned around to see a bright eyed Junior grinning up at her. "Junior, what?! Did your father put you up to asking that?" She didn't mention that they were currently trying for another child.

"No, he didn't," Junior answered, fiddling with his cuffs. "I just thought you might be gettin' kinda lonely is all, since Ludo's off doin his military stuff all the time, and Big Sis is always hanging out with her boyfriend."

"Aww, Junior, you noticed the castle is getting empty too?" Celiko smiled and took her firstborn's hand. "Everyone grows up," she explained as they walked back inside. "Pretty soon Ludo will be starting a family of his own, then eventually Lemmy and Roy. But we're all still family, and that doesn't mean we have to replace them when they leave. Whenever we do welcome another family member, it won't be to replace someone who's gone."

"That's good," Junior said, and took the basket for his Mama. On the way in they passed the reading room, where the two closest Koopalings were in the middle of story time with Papa. "Hey, Larry and Emmy!"

"Shh, Junior, it looks like Emmy's sleeping," Celiko pointed out, as the two poked their heads in the room. Sure enough, Emmy was passed out in Larry's arms as their father read to them. "What's wrong, was it action day again?"

"No, actually today was fairy tales," Larry said as Celiko took the sleepy girl from his lap. "Emmy just wasn't feeling very well."

"I've been keeping an eye on her temperature," Bowser chimed in, "and I'm hoping it's just a small cold. If she gets koopa pox, I'm killing someone."

"Oh honey, it's not koopa pox," Celiko said as she felt Emmy's head. "I had a slight cough-"

"YOU HAD A COUGH? WHEN?" Bowser immediately sprung into overprotective mode, scooping up Celiko and Emmy and rushing them to the couple's bedroom. He shoved the two of them under the covers and stuck thermometers in their mouths, then immediately pulled two of Emmy's cool fever strips out and slapped them on their foreheads (since Emmy and Celiko had human physiology, his usual lava bands would only make it worse).

Celiko squirmed as a pillow was shoved under her feet. "Bowser, aren't you over reacting?"

"No I'm not," he snorted. "The well being of my girls is paramount." He then stopped in his tracks. "WAIT A MINUTE, ARE YOU PREGNANT?"

Celiko turned beet red. "...Don't you think you'd know that already?"

"I guess so," he mumbled. "...So are you?"

"No!" Celiko answered with a huff, and in the process accidentally stirred Emmy awake.

"Nnnh... Mummy? Daddy? Wass siss?"

"Oh baby..." Celiko pulled the thermometer out of her mouth. "You have a fever, and Daddy's being a little precautious."

"Well Daddy knows best, so girlies stay in bed until their fevers go away," Bowser said, tickling Emmy's nose to make her smile. "All girlies..."

Celiko chuckled, and took her husband's hand. "I don't have a fever, and I am not expecting. I don't need to stay in bed. I just gave Emmy my cold, that's all."

Bowser smiled, and shook his head. "With Junior, you thought you were sick from Fawful's attack and that you were just getting fat out of loneliness. With Emmy, you didn't even realize you were pregnant until you were four months along, and even then you thought you were just gaining back the weight you lost while imprisoned. I've known you for eight years and you've never gotten sick otherwise. You might have a baby in your tummy."

"Oh, Honey..."

"Papa?" By this time, Bowser had stalled enough that Larry and Junior had come to investigate, and saw the peculiar scene of their mother and sister in bed with fever strips on their foreheads. Larry showed the most concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Boys, great timing! It's your job to keep Mommy and Emmy in bed until I come back with Kamek. Don't let her up," Bowser warned of Celiko, and darted out of the room.

After a few minutes of awkward glances, Celiko sighed and rose from the bed. "So what's up with Papa?" Larry asked, helping her change Emmy into some more comfortable pajamas.

"He's insisting that because he's never seen me get sick before, that means I'm pregnant," she explained, removing the fever strip from her head. "I want another child just as much as he does, but we have to be patient. This is the second time this week that he's jumped the gun, the other time being when I was having lunch with Iggy and I got a little queasy."

"Mommy?" Emmy tugged on Celiko's sleeve, interrupting the conversation. "I don't wanna stay in bed. It's too warm."

"I know, lovey." Celiko wasted no time scooping up her little pumpkin. "We're gonna go for a little walk out in the garden. Come on boys, you too. If your father yells at you, just tell him I took you hostage."

"Okay!" the two boys shouted, and followed Celiko outside. The group ventured out to Celiko's garden, near the willow tree where it would be cooler and easiest on Emmy's fever. After walking around for a little bit, Larry spread a blanket out under the tree and the four all sat down for a short rest. When Bowser came searching, he found his wife and two youngest snoozing peacefully while Larry kept watch.

"Hi Papa! I'm a hostage," Larry announced as Bowser came over and raised his eyebrow at the girls he thought he told to stay in bed.

"Hostage, huh? Held in place by mind control?" As Bowser looked at the crew napping under the tree, a smile came to his face. "...Well, we shouldn't disturb sick little girls while they're napping, huh. Larry, make sure you tell your kidnapper that when everyone wakes up, Kamek is waiting to give them a checkup, okay?"

"Got it, Papa!"


End file.
